Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Review: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode One
Chances are, if you're reading this, you know what Penny Arcade is. If you don't, I just linked it. The first PA-themed game has been released, I've played it, and let me tell ya, playing Rain-Slick Precipice sure beats getting molested by a kitchen appliance... though I guess most things do, after further thought. So perhaps that's not the best comparison.
What we're dealing with here is an interesting modernized blast from the past, as far as gaming goes. The game is two parts story-driven point-and-click 3rd person RPG (which I haven't seen a single game of the type since LucasArts stopped making them, really), and one part timered combat RPG, a-la the Final Fantasy series.
Graphics -
RSPo'D uses 3D rendering for most of its content, but cel shaded much in the same fashion as Zelda: Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass, Jet Set/Grind Radio, or Viewtiful Joe. Also interspersed throughout it are hand-drawn 2D cutscenes, and conversations with NPCs are usually parlayed out using 2D avatars as well. The point to the endeavor here is the distinctive PA-style art and humor, and that it translates flawlessly. Just goes to show you developers out there a game doesn't have to use enough polys to kneecap the strongest computer and you certainly don't have to drench every little light source in retina-searing amounts of bloom. As far as I can tell, this game uses no bloom whatsoever, and for that I applaud.
Sound -
Although I must admit I was a little disappointed that there was no voice acting (just word bubbles) for the three protagonists and most of the cast of the game, I can understand why they did it... your own avatar is customizable to be anything you want, of either gender, so that would have been prohibitively time consuming (not to mention byte consuming, and the primary delivery method for this game is download), and really, everybody already has in their mind what Gabe and Tycho sound like, so anything put forward in this area would have ground the gears of 99.9% of the listeners. What is there, though, is marvelous. The narrator is perfect, the musical score is grand and immersive, the sound effects are spot on, and the few instances of voice acting in the game even aside from the narration are well done.
Story -
Anyone familiar with the source material knows that the fellas at PA aren't the biggest fans of continuity... or even sanity. The plot of this game takes you through a rollicking series of turns and tumbles that give the impression that the writer had a great deal of sugar that day and only the barest grip on reality to begin with, but it works. After all, the comic thrives on suspension of disbelief and the comedy of the absurd development, thus also does the game. The game begins with you, the protagonist simply raking leaves, only to have your house flattened by the 100-foot tall manifestation of everyone's favorite serial fruit-molesting robot, which then stomps off down the street pursued by "two strange men," Gabe and Tycho. Your little custom gamer self then joins the two on their mission to... well... pretty much it's just a mission to "find out what the hell is going on." And maybe find a new place to live.
Gameplay -
As mentioned above, the game is primarily of the variety where you move yourself or your party around in a 3rd person view with scripted camera angles, clicking on stuff to see what it is, add it to your inventory, and advance the plot by using it in certain other places in the game. The interface, however, is simplified to the point of initial confusion.. that is, it took me a minute or so to realize that all you did to something was click it. No selection of "go, look, open, pull, push, take, hit," whatever... if there's something to be done with an object, clicking on it will get it done.
Combat is initiated when your party comes close to a hostile character. Once in combat, each character (and enemy) has a timer that slowly fills up until you direct them to perform an action, at which point the timer goes back to zero. How full the timer is determines what actions you are allowed to perform. The first action to become available (needing the smallest amount of time) is to use an object from the inventory. There are a variety of combat inventory items that variously heal your party members, damage your enemies, buff your characters, or debuff or stun/distract enemies. The second option to come available is a standard attack. The weaponry for these attacks is pretty fixed, though very upgradeable. Gabe attacks with his fists (which are fast but less damage), which can be upgraded with brass knuckles of meaner and meaner variety later. He also has high HP/Defense. Tycho is the other end of the spectrum, using a hard-hitting but slow-loading tommy gun, and is also able to soak less punishment than gabe. Your avatar falls immediately between the two, attacking with the rake you were using at the onset of the game, which seems to be balanced both for damage and speed between the other two, and likewise with your defense. The final option on the timer is the special attack, and to use a special attack you must wait for the timer to fill all the way. These are much more powerful than standard attacks, and invoke a sort of quick "mini game" task such as hitting specific keys in rapid succession or tapping the space bar enough before time runs out etc, and if you do so correctly the attack is devastating.
After combat, characters gain experience and loot (they all share one inventory), and perhaps level up, raising their stats and gaining new special attacks. There is also a nifty dynamic where if a character gets an "overkill," that is kills a target with a properly performed special attack, he gets a permanent 1 point boost to his damage. These boosts are cumulative, though the maximum number of boosts you can get is limited by how upgraded that character's weapon is. Since the game does not use random encounters, but rather "placed" encounters sort of like Chrono Trigger, your characters advance more or less at the appropriate pace without falling too far behind or becoming too powerful too soon... although it is possible to go to later portions of the game too early and get your butt kicked. Another nice thing is that after each combat sequence, your party is returned to full health, ready for the next fight. Saves on bandages.
Thus it goes. You cavort through the perpetual dusk of the town of New Arcadia, smashing malevolent steampunk fruit juicing appliances, bashing hostile bums, clonking evil clowns, maiming mimes, etc... all in the name of "getting to the bottom of all this." And what you find down there, may horrify you.
Verdict -
It seems to me that the game's allure is one that is reaching for a very specific, though fortunately for it, not small, audience. Penny-Arcade fans will love it. Their favorite characters are there, Gabe's artwork is translated flawlessly into the 3rd dimension and is omnipresent in the 2nd. Tycho's writing is clearly in evidence, from the wry, dark humor to the constant barrage of Lovecraftian overtones. In fact, they become more than overtones. But will, say, my father, who has probably never even heard of PA in his life, enjoy the game? I say, maybe. He'll probably say "eh, it's cute," and go back to playing starcraft, which has been an unhealthy obsession of his since I gave it to him back in the 90s, one for which I am constantly having to apologize to my stepmother ("He didn't USE to spend all day in front of the computer before you did this to him!").
Uh... where was I?
Oh yeah. The game. It's well done. It might be lost on those not familiar with the source. And, like all episode-type games, it's pretty short. You can probably play all the way through it in 4 or 5 hours and it kind of leaves you hanging. But there's 3 more coming, they say, and they're each 20 bucks, so hey. Right? Hey.
Grade: B+
And that's the word from Bandit camp.
Review: Crusaders - Thy Kingdom Come
In today's politically-correct social clime, it takes a measure of cojones to put out a game where you orchestrate the crusade against the saracen-held holy land.
Crusaders - Thy Kingdom Come is a real time strategy set during the (you'd never guess) Crusades. The single player campaign follows you as you assume the identity of one of a handful of Crusader leaders, battling your way step by step to Jerusalem. One must admit it is an idea that has some potential, especially for history buffs out there.
It's a pity the follow-through was so bad.
Graphics -
The visual layout of this game is something of an anachronism. The rolling hillsides are uncomplex, the user interface panels are rendered merely as a straight 2D graphical overlay with no depth whatsoever, and yet every model... every little knight, archer, tree, rock, shrub, horse, house, tower, flag and blade of grass upon the plains... uses a stupid amount of polygons. The models for the soldiers are actually not bad, but if you ever have the camera down close enough to admire the detail, you won't be even in the slightest effectively commanding your troops. The rest of it just calls attention to the blandness of the art. Is it really necessary to use such high-poly models and high-resolution textures to explicitly depict the utter blandness of the art in this game? All that does is make sure that those who have the hardware to appreciate such things will instead be your most vociferous critics.
Sound -
The sound here was an obvious afterthought. The sound effects are just on the "uninspiring" side of stock. The area in which the camera must be placed to hear things like stomping marches and twanging bows pretty much guarantees you won't hear them except when they're irrelevant to what you are looking at. The music is an even worse development - despite being of good fidelity and competent creation, it is the same repeating track over and over again, with moderate parts and high energy parts... and you never quite get over looking for where the action is supposed to be every time the music swells in volume and tempo... only to be discouraged every time. We've been trained that game music is supposed to adapt to the current action or situation in the game, and now to play a game where it does not feels like somebody put pepper in your salt shaker.
Gameplay -
Just about everything having to deal with playing this game is bad or wrong. The camera controls are aggravating and nonintuitive. The pacing of levels is such that you're either struggling to keep up with the action or tapping your foot waiting for your soldiers to get where they are supposed to go so you can tell them to do the next thing. Even the ability to double the flow of time does not help much with this. The effects of such variables as cover, stamina and formations seem to be obvious enough but then you can never really tell if they're actually making a difference or not. One thing that is undeniable however, is that your archers are too stupid to avoid shooting your own troops unless you explicitly forbid them from using their ranged attack at all, which kind of defeats the purpose of them.
The only nice thing I really have to say about this game is that there's a novel feature in it of which one of my uncles would approve.. he could never get into most RTSes because, in his words, "any game that allows you to build structures and soldiers as quickly as you can kill them off is bullshit." So, unca would approve of the fact that you can only recruit/rearm your men between missions (and it costs money to do so), and once you're on the battlefield, what you've got is all you'll be getting. It does make for a different strategic style I approve of during combat, and that is placing a strong emphasis on preservation of the lives of your men lacking in most games, where you can just zerg-rush your way to victory as long as you have the cash to replenish on the fly. That's not how it works here. You have limited funds (which you can only spend between missions anyway), and the absence of lost soldiers is keenly felt. I wish more RTSes used dynamics that emphasized the value of using strategy to keep your men alive longer than the enemy.
That said, just about everything else is crap.
Verdict -
Grade - D. If not for that one redeeming feature above, this game might have received the first F I've given a game since Derek Smart stopped making games.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Review: Assassin's Creed
The buzz around this game has been so heavy and fellatory (is that even a word?) that I went into this ready to not like this game, especially given the jaw-dropping system requirements for the PC version. Well, fortunately for me, I have such a machine. So I was able to sample this little morsel of a game.
Graphics -
At first blush, the graphics are absolutely astounding and it starts to make sense that the game requires a PC with the cognitive abilities of a 12th level Mentat to play it... but as you play through the game you start to notice some very peculiar graphical anomalies I've never quite seen before but am inclined to blame on the game's console roots (how I'd love to be able to get through just one freaking review without having to bitch about a game being hobbled by its console roots). There are a few horizontal lines in the middle of the view that run the entire length of the screen, visible only by the graphical distortions they cause, much like looking through a pair of executive trifocal glasses. When the action is getting fast and furious you hardly notice it, but it catches your eye during slow parts (and there's a lot of slow parts). And, of course, like most console ports, there are some serious jaggies from bad anti-aliasing. Shadow rendering involves an almost-unforgivable amount of pixellation. Aside from that, however, the visuals are jaw-dropping.
Sound
The sound is par excellence. From the clang of swords to the splut of a dagger going into a throat, the sound effects are distinct and well produced. The voice acting is top notch in most situations, and the use of various different languages added to the feeling. Yes, the protagonist has an American accent. But you know what? Feck off. At least it isn't a TEXAN accent.
Story
Up to the end, the story is engaging and well done. The characters may be a little cardboard, but it's the 12th century holy land.. people weren't that deep back then. The story purports to be based on historical figures, and they take some creative license with a few dates and geographical locations, but the story does very well at what it is supposed to do in these sorts of games: make you want to finish to see how it ends.
Gameplay
What we have here is a sort of Hitman-meets-Prince of Persia in the 12th century Holy Land. There's lots of skulking about and climbing over buildings (yet somehow, it's almost entirely outdoors, abarring a few exceptions... nobody apparently ever realizes they could elude uber-assassin Altair by... going inside a house). Some other folks have griped about the controls, but once you get past the initial learning curve I found these to be by far the most intuitive ported-from-console controls I have ever played to date, especially since they make wise use of right click and the shift key. The camera is sometimes a little problematic going through tight spaces, however. But the main things in the game... IE, stabbing people and hacking them apart, are like buttah. There's also a lot of fun to be had in "free running" across the rooftops (or as I like to call it, the Thieves' Highway, blatantly ripped from Raymond Feist).
Gripes
Even apart from the graphic oddities that stand out pretty prominently, there are some major gripes to this game.
First and foremost is the ending of the game. Look, I hate spoilers as much as the next guy, but let me just warn those (both) of you who haven't played this game yet, you will hate the ending. Why? Because there pretty much isn't one. There's a strongly implied "to be continued" with an even more implied "frack you, ha ha" for you to glower over while you watch the unskippable (and interminable, it seems) credits roll by. The whole game builds suspense and expectation up to what's going to happen to the 2012 protagonist and then it just pulls the rug out from under you. You've been expecting Desmond to wig out and go Altair on his captors, and maybe he will... but not this game. They build to a huge anticlimax and leave you to dangle. Frankly, I think they could have cut out 2 or 3 of the assassination missions from the middle of the game and tacked the "modern day" mission on to the end.
Second is the frankly ludicrous "blend" paradigm. I think this sums it up pretty nicely. Especially so when on horseback.
Third is how often things just degenerate into a general 10-on-1 sword melee. Now, I rarely lost those (even the stupid 20-on-1 unavoidable fights at the end of the game), because the defend-and-counter system works so well, but come on! This is supposed to be a stealthy assassin here, not Conan the Saracerian (sic).
As I mentioned before, I think they could have taken out a couple of the missions in the middle. This is because they are exceedingly repetitive. Pickpocket somebody, beat somebody up, eavesdrop on somebody, run a couple time trials, kill your target, lather, rinse, repeat. If the game didn't make killing people so fun, I probably would have gotten tired of running these missions. And there was something very satisfying in walking up to an armored knight, stabbing him in the stomach, and walking away out of sight before he slumped to the ground and anybody noticed anything was wrong. Even moreso to run across rooftops and leap onto the back of an unsuspecting archer and stab him in the neck.
The Verdict
It's decent game. I'd say the term "flawed genius" applies here. It was good, but it could have been orgasmic. Hopefully the lessons learned here will be applied to the inexorable sequel.
Grade: B
And that's the word from Bandit Camp.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Bad Day at Bandit Camp
So night before last, we had a bad thunderstorm. I wasn't worried, though, because all my computer equipment, even the speakers, the router, the modems (yes, plural) are all on surge protected battery backups... specifically, APC UPSes.
But there was a way in. I guess there's always a way in. My DSL modem was plugged directly into the phone jack. I guess I did this because I was worried about latency or signal degradation from going through the little "phone cord" surge protector sockets in the UPS... besides, how often does that happen?
Well, I've learned my lesson. 2 nights ago I had a surge come in through the phone line and cause me over $100 dollars of damage with probably more to follow later. Allow me to explain.
Regard the image below -
This is a quick scribble of the affected portion of my home network. The power spike came in through the phone jack, frying the DSL modem, frying both on-board gigabit ethernet adapters on the motherboard of my new gaming rig, continuing on to fry my wireless router, and through that frying the NIC in my fileserver and frying the cable modem feeding the wireless router. All dead. Thank goodness Verizon and the Cable company provided me with replacements in short order (next day, basically). I also had to go to the store and buy replacement network cards and a new router. I'm thinking I'm going to want to buy a new motherboard for my gaming rig as well, because even aside from the ethernet adapters who knows what else got fried on the motherboard that I don't know about yet and is just waiting to asplode? Sigh. Well, my DSL data cord is going through a surge protector now, I'll tell ya! Learned my lesson, I did.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Review - Warhammer 40k Dawn of War: Soulstorm
This review was a long time coming... and you know why? Because Soulstorm is a long time playing. Seriously. Dawn of War's always been one for lengthy gaming sessions, but now... well, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Soulstorm is the name of the latest "expansion" for the RTS dreadnought that is Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. I put "expansion" in quotes because it doesn't quite fit with my definition of what a game expansion usually is. Usually, a game "expansion" is a lower priced piece of addon software which injects an amount of new content into an existing game, and that amount is usually somewhat less than that with which the game originally shipped. But this isn't the case with this franchise.
Each expansion in the DoW series is like a complete reinvention... or rather, a "do-over." As if they have told us, "Here's the game, enjoy. Whup, no wait! HERE's the game, this is better. That'll be another full price please. Thank you, enjoy. No wait, HERE! This is EVEN better!" and so on and so forth. The irritation I would generally feel at being yanked around like this, repeatedly and at full price, is mitigated by the fact that each time it IS bigger, and it IS better. And, like most Warhammer enthusiasts, I seem to have enough disposable income so as not to worry about how much I'm pushing down the same rathole.
I thought the previous expansion, Dark Crusade, was impressive with its 7 factions vying amongst each other. That was a remarkable increase from the previous 5 factions, and the Necrons and Tau made a very interesting addition with unconventional paradigms for play. This time around, Soulstorm has added yet another two factions: The Sisters of Battle, and the Dark Eldar. After the fresh and new feeling of the previous two races, a lot of people (myself included) raised the proverbial skeptical eyebrow at the latest addition seeming a little less than inspired... after all, the Necrons and Tau were dynamic and new... and compared to them, it was easy to write off the Dark Eldar as just a new paint job and the Sisters of Battle as "Space Marines with Boobs." Added to the fact that "Chaos" is basically "Dark Space Marines," and one was led to wonder if the ol' idea bucket was starting to run low.
Well, I am pleased to say that my reservations proved to be unfounded. The two new factions are not mere copies of any of the other factions any more than any given faction is a copy of all the rest. That is, to say, they still must adhere to the same light infantry / heavy infantry / light vehicle / heavy vehicle / artillery / superunit / hero force commander paradigm that all the factions use, but the artistry and methodry of the new races is still different enough to feel unique among the now very crowded playing field of 9 factions.
When I read that the new expansion's campaign would span an entire system (as opposed to the single planet in Dark Crusade), I was simultaneously eager and worried. Turns out I needn't have been worried. Although the scope of the battle has increased to spanning 4 planets (and some moons), the number of actual territories hasn't gone up fourfold. But there is still more ground to cover, and some new rules governing movement from one planet to another. A "warp storm" has emerged in the system making conventional space travel unusable, so to get from one planet to another requires the use of "ancient gates," which generally only connect to two other ancient gates. This dynamic prevents any player from just attacking anywhere, there's still a sense of having to conquer your way from point A to point B step by step. There's also a "supply lines" rule that prevents you from gaining resources from your territories that are cut off from you.
The one gripe I have with the expansion is, unfortunately, what was supposed to be one of its big selling points - Air units. Here, they definitely took the cop-out approach. Each faction gets a new "air vehicle" type, but for all intents and purposes these things are just ground units that can move anywhere regardless of terrain. They don't have to land, they don't have to refuel, and really they don't feel that special or even useful. They don't even have the decency to look like they're flying in a holding pattern... they just hang there defying physics until you tell them to move, like a Warcraft 2 Goblin Zeppelin or Gnomish Flying Machine. Typically their normal weapons are rather lackluster and they rely too heavily on timered abilities, meaning that they require a lot of micromanagement. The benefit they provide doesn't really justify their use of your precious and limited vehicle cap. The final straw for my mental dismissal of them came when I destroyed an Ork "Fighta-Bomma" with ground-targeted artillery.
Well, there's one other gripe, too, but it is a small one and doesn't really apply to me. The publisher chose to stick it to late adopters by making it so that you can't play as Tau or Necrons unless you already own Dark Crusade, and put your Dark Crusade CD Key in to a special place in the game's options. Thus, you can't just buy the latest WH40k:DOW game and be up to date. That seems particularly money-grubbing of them, but then I guess Games Workshop has always been about the grubbing of money. See that link 5 paragraphs above.
But aside from that, it's still a worthwhile play and a fun time. Not for the casual gamer, but what about Warhammer has ever been for the casual gamer? One last Caveat - the game itself still sports a very claustrophobic level of zoom. I don't know why they seem to think that if we can see more than 8 units at once we'll somehow be having less fun (or perhaps too much), but there's this mod out there which fixes that problem and then it's full speed ahead from there.
Verdict: A-. It's a great big ball of awesome only tarnished by a few blotches.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Warhammer Online Newsletter #30 - April 2008
We know that you all have been patiently waiting (well, some not so patiently) for information about Guilds and this is your lucky month! This month's Production Podcast is chock-full of juicy details about how the Guild System works in WAR. Associate Producer, Josh Drescher, explains how this social and competitive system can be an important strategic instrument used to achieve victory for your Realm. He also details many of the new tools we've included with the Guild System to make forming, managing, and growing your guild a simple and enjoyable process! View the video for the dirt! Be sure to check out this month’s Grab Bag for more answers to your burning questions about the Guild System! Welcome to the WAR Grab Bag, where our friendly neighborhood community team answers the most pressing, the most popular, and the most interesting questions from fans. Keep those questions coming, as we’re eager to hear what you have to say! Check out this month’s Grab Bag >> In the future we will collect grab bag questions from a different fansite each month. If you have a question you would like to submit for next month's grab bag please submit your questions on www.warhammerconflict.com dedicated forum page. Prepare for the coming war by pre-ordering the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector’s Edition. You’ll have the chance to gear up with special items and experience the glory of Realm vs. Realm™ combat before the rest of the recruits even set foot in the game world. Only 60,000 units of the Collector’s Edition will be available for North America so don’t miss out. Pre-order your copy today! The Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector’s Edition includes: To learn more about the Warhammer Online Collector’s Edition, please click here. The WAR Collector’s Edition is available now for Pre-Order. Special Pre-Order Bonuses Include: OPEN BETA ACCESS LIVE GAME HEAD START BONUS IN-GAME ITEMS For more information about the Collector’s Edition pre-order program, visit www.warhammeronline.com/ce_preorder. COLLECTOR’S EDITION PRE-ORDER PARTNERS This month in the WAR Closed Beta, testers had their first glimpse of the Tier 4 campaign as the forces of the Empire and Chaos battled their way through Tiers 3 and 4! The test concluded with the players ready to take down the gates of Altdorf. A sampling of what players experienced included: Twelve careers open, with Career Mastery included: Order The first phase of the test focused on updated PvE content, careers, and Open World RvR. Testers began in Tier 3 with Rank 20 characters ready to charge into WAR. The second phase focused on the Campaign itself. Order and Destruction were pitted against each other in Tier 4 with Rank 40 characters to lay siege to Fortresses and Keeps! Next month players will charge into Altdorf to experience sacking, pillaging and burning the city! "Nice flow, good storyline, LOVED the talking boss on a floating disc! Eeeep runaway!!" (Level 20 Archmage) Check out the latest News From the Front, featuring the Elves, and be sure to keep your eyes posted to the WAR Herald for more news from the Beta! This month we sat down with Anthony Reynolds, the author of the first Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning novel, EMPIRE IN CHAOS, to learn more about the story and what influenced him most while writing the book. Q. How many Warhammer books have you written and how did this one compare to your previous novels? Learn more about EMPIRE IN CHAOS, the first novel in the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning series, at www.blacklibrary.com. Episode 4: Grovod Caverns and Reikland Hills Welcome, folks, to another episode of Scenarios 101! So far we’ve covered Tier 1, 2, 3 and several tier 4 Empire vs. Chaos Scenarios. This month we’ll be focusing on the last of our Empire vs. Chaos Scenarios: Grovod Caverns and Reikland Hills. Swordmaster Career Masteries The Swordmaster fights with magical enchantments to bolster the strength of his attacks and is a deadly front-line warrior. Surprisingly agile with his finely-crafted Elven Greatsword, the Swordmaster is the vanguard of any Elf army. The Swordmaster strings together short chains of attacks in a graceful Blade Dance. With each swing of his weapon he steps into a more balanced fighting position, which allows him to use more powerful attacks, which then increase his balance even further. Swordmaster Masteries Path of Vaul Path of Hoeth Sorceress Career Masteries The Sorceresses of the Druchii are the true power of the Dark Elf armies. Blades may be turned aside and shields may be crushed, but what soldier can stop a flow of living shadow and darkness? Tearing the Winds of Magic asunder, the Sorceresses bring forth devastation on an unimaginable scale, raining destruction down upon their helpless foes. In this month’s teaser for the second WAR cinematic we reveal the the elegant, yet arrogant and deceitful, Dark Elf Sorceress. Stay tuned for more as we bring you another peek at the WAR cinematic next month. Enjoy! Games Workshop recently hosted a Golden Demon painting competition in France and the winner of the Open Category, David Waeselynck, was truly inspired by the original WAR cinematic! That is killer Slayer! Here is the original Slayer from the WAR Cinematic. David’s miniature is spot on! Lothern is also home to the Phoenix Throne, the prize that is fixed firmly in the mind of Malekith, Witch King of Naggaroth and arch-enemy of the High Elves. Order - NPC - Felix Join Creative Director, Paul Barnett, and his trusty video phone for a truly unique look at the making of WAR. This month Paul shares with us some Chaos coolness, many shades of green, the first few seconds of a new beta opening and he introduces us to “mutard”. This month in the WAR Closed Beta, testers battled their way through Empire and Chaos Tiers 3 and 4 to fight their way to the gates of Altdorf! Don’t waste any time, sign up now to take part in one of the largest beta tests ever for an MMORPG. More than 600,000 players have registered so far, but we are always looking for new recruits. Sharpen your sword, unleash your inner mutation, and prepare to meet your destiny on the battlefields of Warhammer Online. Sign up for the WAR Beta at: There are a million stories in the Age of Reckoning just waiting to be told. What is your tale? WAR is coming! Are you properly dressed? JUST ADDED – WAR BELT BUCKLE Hold your pants up with style and show the world you are ready for WAR! Do you feel like you’ve been lacking accessories in your WARdrobe? Well not any more! Now available exclusively at the EA Mythic Store is the new WAR pewter belt buckle.* Supplies are extremely limited so order now! * Offer valid for U.S. residents only Feeling creative? We know we have some talented fans out there and now is the time for you to demonstrate your skills. Send us your WAR-inspired art and we’ll showcase the best submissions in upcoming newsletters. Plus, featured artists will be invited to join us in the closed beta test! "I've collected a seriously unhealthy number of miniatures ... really. There is enough metal in my cubical to crush a small village. Right now I'm obsessing over a massive Ultramarine force with Vostroyans sort of just over the horizon beckoning me to explore the path to Imperial Guard glory. And then of course there's my Inquisitorial temptation ... Ordo Malleus ... " "I think WAR offers something more than previous MMO's. PvE and RvR are blended together in a way that makes the experience seamless and engaging on all fronts. In other games, I often find myself bored with static content and my lack of influence on the world around me. With WAR you actually change the course of history in the game as you conquest for your realms dominance." The next phase of the WAR Beta is underway and we are debuting all-new content and RvR mayhem! Each month we'll randomly select 20 names from the newsletter subscriber database for entry into the Beta Test.* If you are a current Warhammer newsletter subscriber, then you're automatically entered into the drawing every month. If you are not yet a newsletter subscriber, visit betacenter.eamythic.com to register for the Beta and subscribe to the monthly newsletter. April Winners: March 2008 Each month we’ll be shining the spotlight on WAR fan sites that exemplify what we consider to be the best in WAR community spirit. Is your fan site doing something cool, informative, or fun? Let us know by sending an email to war-community@mythic.ea.com and you could be featured in the next community spotlight. Download the WAR The views expressed in the linked sites are the views of the respective owners of each site, and do not necessarily express the views of Electronic Arts, its wholly-owned subsidiaries or Licensors. Electronic Arts does not endorse and is not responsible for content on third party sites, including fan sites. Get your hands on the latest Origins Gen Con Indy * The BOOM! Beta promotional code must be activated by May 31, 2008 to be eligible for the Beta Test. Previous registrants can add the promo code to their existing accounts by visiting the Beta Center. One in five registrants using this promo code are potentially eligible to participate in the Beta test. However, this is dependent upon the registrant meeting specific computer system specifications and the time of entry is not guaranteed. The Beta Test is an ongoing process and registrants will be invited to participate at various intervals until the launch of the game. Offer valid for North American beta test only. Only one BOOM! Beta Code can be associated with a Beta Center Account. In order to participate in the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Beta you must agree to a Beta Test Agreement, in which you will represent and warrant that, among other things, you (a) are eighteen (18) years of age or older, (b) are not a principal, employee, agent, independent contractor, officer or director of a developer or publisher of video or computer games (other than EA), and (c) are not a principal, employee, supplier, independent contractor, officer or director or of any entity that participates either directly or indirectly in the sale of in-game items, including but not limited to, in-game currency, armor, weapons, etc., whether these sales are to the general public or to a third-party. 'Warhammer' ©/™ and/or ® GW Ltd. Newsletter © 2008 Electronic Arts Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Be one of the first players to experience the glory of battle and the thrill of WAR when the Open Beta phase begins.
Begin your adventures in the Age of Reckoning before the raw recruits arrive!
Equip your characters for the journey to the frontlines with two helpful bonus items!
The Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector’s Edition is available for pre-order from these fine retailers:
- Empire and Chaos Tiers 3 and 4
- In-Game Mail
- Siege Testing
- Campaign Testing
- and Fortresses
Destruction
Here are some exciting insights that testers had as they explored the areas of Talabecland and High Pass: 
"Just the whole layout of everything comes together quite nice. It feels good to be able to wander around and get quests done at the same time, not to mention come across a couple Public Quests along the way. Thanks guys, and keep up the great work!!" (Level 21 Archmage)
"I don't have much time to play right now so I logged in to see what changed. This game just gets better and better every phase! The UI looks much better, new abilities are ALWAYS welcome! You guys are great, keep up the work." (Level 20 Disciple)
"I love it here! I like how to avoid blowing up in a huge fireball, you need to use ALL your abilities and weave them together. Really makes the class complex and fun." (Level 22 Bright Wizard)
"Excellent game play design for the Marauder. The mutations are an excellent addition to the game." (Level 20 Marauder)
A. So far, I’ve written two Warhammer 40K novels, and three Warhammer novels, though I’ve also written quite a few army books and supplements during my time as a Games Developer with Games Workshop. I was getting to see more and more cool concept art and screenshots from the game while I was writing, and kept going ‘oooh, I have to include that!’ The Dwarf steam train is a good example of that – it wasn’t in the book at the start, but once I saw the shots of it, I just had to include it.
Q. What is your favorite Warhammer army? What is your favorite faction to write about? Favorite to play?
A. Ah, that’s a tricky one. I have a particular fond spot for several of the races, including Wood Elves, Bretonnians, Chaos and the Empire. To write about, I’d probably say I like Chaos best – there is so much horror and weirdness involved, which really appeals to me (though that probably says something about myself!) In the tabletop game, I’ve always played Vampire Counts (or Undead, before Vampire Counts existed).
Q. Which careers are you most looking forward to playing in Warhammer Online?
A. I really want to try out quite a few of them before I pick one to stick with it. I’m probably most looking forward to playing an Empire or Dwarf career – particularly the Witch Hunter, or the Ironbreaker. It’s going to be great to actually see all the places I’ve read about for so many years – places like Altdorf, Blackfire Pass, and the Dwarf holds. That is probably what is exciting me the most.
Q. What are the main factions the reader will encounter in this book?
A. The main action of the book takes place between the Empire and Chaos. Having said that, I wanted to get at least a little bit of each of the six factions into the book – there should be a little bit for everyone.
Q. Who do you feel was the most interesting character in the book?
A. My favorite character was probably Eldanair, the silent, guilt-ridden Shadow Warrior. However, I found Annaliese’s journey particularly interesting, travelling with her as her faith in Sigmar strengthened to become a potent weapon against the enemies of the forces of order.
Q. Do you need to be familiar with the Warhammer universe to enjoy this book?
A. Not at all, and in fact I think Empire in Chaos is a good introduction into the Warhammer universe, as is the game Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning itself. I wrote it to appeal to complete newcomers as well as those who were already familiar with the world and its inhabitants, either through the table top game, the computer game, or the fiction. 
by Brian Wheeler, Lead RvR Design 
Path of Khaine
The Path of Khaine focuses on the Swordmaster's signature Elf Greatsword, a massive but exquisite weapon which he can swing with deceptive speed. While no High Elf would ever worship the God of Warfare, a Master of this path acknowledges Khaine as a potent and necessary figure, and the Swordmaster brings swift death to any who stand in his way.
The Path of Vaul is primarily focused on defense, and a Master of this path may very well be temped to lay aside his Greatsword in favor of an elegant Elf-crafted shield instead. The Swordmaster who specializes in this path will be the core that the lines of battle form around.
The Path of Hoeth is for Swordmasters who have spent much longer amounts of time in the White Tower, honing their innate magical skills and learning how to smoothly work magical power into their attacks. A Master of this path will learn subtle ways to both expose weaknesses in their foes, and to shield themselves in battle.
The weak High Elves teach that the Winds of Magic must be used in balance, through precise and careful crafting, but the Dark Elf Sorceresses scoff at their foolish cowardice. Every Dark Elf knows that when you want something, you simply take it - all of it. A Sorceress uses her Dark Magic to pull power indiscriminately from all the Winds of Magic, driving her magical potency to levels that her weak High Elf cousins could scarcely dream of. The Winds themselves fight back against such overwhelming use of power, however, and reckless Sorceresses will find themselves facing a Backlash against their unnatural use of power, but such is the price of victory - and surely, any Dark Elves clumsy enough to be destroyed by their own Backlashes would clearly be too foolish to live long in Druchii society regardless, yes?
Sorceress Masteries
Path of Agony
The Path of Agony is mainly concerned with slaughtering individual enemies in the messiest and most direct ways possible. This path contains a somewhat equal mix of volatile Dark Magic spells and more stable magic.
Path of Calamity
The Path of Calamity is favored by the more subtle and insidious covens of Sorceresses, and is primarily focused on longer-duration effects. A Master of Calamity prefers to hinder and wound their enemies over time, until the effects have built up enough that their foes are already dead, and just don't realize it yet. This path has fewer Dark Magic abilities, and relies more on a steady pace of destructive stable magic.
Path of Destruction
The Path of Destruction is for the Sorceress who believes that killing one enemy is nothing but a waste of time that could be much better spent killing ALL of their enemies. Spreading vast, sweeping swaths of darkness and death across the battlefield, the Masters of Destruction gamble the most heavily on numerous Dark Magic spells. 
The source of Eataine’s wealth and prestige is Lothern, a magnificent city-state filled with towers of glittering silver and ringed by plazas of white marble. One of the wonders of the Warhammer world, Lothern is a marvel of High Elf craftsmanship and a sight not soon forgotten by any who visit it. 
The war between the High Elves and their dark kin rages on many fronts, but the invaders are slowly gaining ground in their relentless march toward Lothern. Now, the battle lines have been redrawn yet again, as Prince Tyrion's forces fall back to Eataine to regroup and take on reinforcements. Where they expected to find respite, however, they instead find a very unexpected battle. 
Magus Daemonette Knight of Tzeentch 
Lord of Change Marauder of Tzeentch Slaanesh Champion 
Zealot of Slaanesh Warrior of Tzeentch Slime Hound 
Order - NPC - Gotrek 
Order - NPC - Thyrus Gormann Order - NPC -
Grand Theogonist Volkmarc 
Dark Elf - NPC - Beastmaster 
betacenter.eamythic.com 
This month we follow a Chosen on his journey into the elf lands looking for possible recruits to supoprt the side of destruction in the war. 
Visit the EA Mythic Store! 
EARN A SPOT IN THE CLOSED BETA!
Chaos Zealot
by C. Coates 
Druchii Knight
by S. Ying Ow 
Death or Glory
by S. Davis 
The Beta Beggar
by Thonn 
Tzeentch Horror
by A. Shkel 
I hate Mondays
by J. Hall 
„Tödliche Gier“
by Dominik Friedrich 
ShadowWarrior
by Gordan Dzinovic 
Rozzy
by Aiek 
Priest
by Pedroosp
B. Roland/North America M. Hamann/Europe N. Powers/North America A. Pegenaute/Europe R. Sandifer/North America S. Demesse/Europe M. Hauck/North America T. Grizard/Europe F. Trovato/North America C. Thomson/Europe G. Daubar/North America G. Lewandowski/Europe R. Rowland/North America D. Garcia/Europe R. Murphy/North America M. Giacomo/Europe S. Gordon/New Zealand D. Wei/Europe L. Mcdonald/Australia P. Mullen/Australia 
This month, decorate your desktop with more images of WAR.
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
We recently discovered a great
WAR inspired game over at www.warhammerinfo.com.
Pit yourself against the computer
as you work to claim victory using Action Points, Morale, and Tactics. Be sure to check out the tutorial first (brought to you by Paul’s Sunglasses)!
Play Orbs here!
Fan Site kit. 
build of WAR at one of
the following events:
Baltimore Games Day
June 14, 2008
Toronto Games Day
June 21, 2008
June 26-29, 2008
San Diego Comic Con
July 24-27, 2008
Chicago Games Day
July 26, 2008
August 14-17, 2008
LA Games Day
August 23, 2008
Penny Arcade Expo
August 29-31, 2008
Stay tuned for more information
about our upcoming 2008 show schedule! 
More news and exclusive information from the frontlines of WAR, including:
Career!
Dragonwake
Day Baltimore
podcasts, and so much
more! 
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